EEOC Updates ADA Pandemic Guidance for COVID-19

The EEOC updated its employer guidance for handling common employment issues that arise during pandemics to specifically address issues related to COVID-19. The new guidance provide useful answers to many frequently asked questions employers have during this difficult time including:

How much information may an employer request from an employee who calls in sick, in order to protect the rest of its workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic

When may an ADA-covered employer take the body temperature of employees during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Does the ADA allow employers to require employees to stay home if they have symptoms of the COVID-19?

When employees return to work, does the ADA allow employers to require doctors’ notes certifying their fitness for duty?

If an employer is hiring, may it screen applicants for symptoms of COVID-19?

May an employer take an applicant’s temperature as part of a post-offer, pre-employment medical exam?

May an employer delay the start date of an applicant who has COVID-19 or symptoms associated with it?

May an employer withdraw a job offer when it needs the applicant to start immediately but the individual has COVID-19 or symptoms of it?

About the Author

Russell Cawyer is a partner representing Texas employers in Kelly Hart & Hallman’s labor and employment practice group practicing out of the firm’s Fort Worth, Texas office. He has been board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for nearly 20 years.

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